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Red Arrows salute boy climbs Pen-y-Ghent for charity

Andrew Newson Jacob Newson waving a flag on the top of Pen-y-GhentAndrew Newson
Jacob Newson has raised more than £5,500 for the RAF Benevolent Fund

A five-year-old boy has climbed one of Yorkshire's highest peaks dressed in his flying suit as a "thank you" to the Red Arrows for saluting him.

Jacob Newson, from Leeds, met the Royal Air Force's aerobatic crew earlier this month. His father Andrew, 51, said it had made his son's "dream come true".

The youngster then decided to take on the challenge of walking up Pen-y-Ghent in aid of the RAF Benevolent Fund.

Jacob said: "I can't believe I climbed to the top. It was super, super hard."

Crown Copyright Little boy and Red Arrows crew saluting each otherCrown Copyright
Jacob was dressed in a flying suit during the salute

"It was absolutely amazing," said Mr Newson, a Yorkshire Ambulance Service crew member.

"He did it all on his own and I didn't even have to carry him, which was brilliant."

The Red Arrows fan has raised more than £5,500, which his father said was "overwhelming" as the target was initially set up to raise £500.

"It's just literally gone mental - over the last three weeks I've just been gradually increasing it by £500. This morning I raised it from £5,500 to £6,000."

Andrew Newson Jacob Newson sitting on a rock at Pen-y-GhentAndrew Newson
Jacob has been invited to visit RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire, the base where Prince William learned to fly, as a result of the fundraiser

The Red Arrows, based at RAF Scampton, near Lincoln, held their last UK display this year at the Royal International Air Tattoo in Gloucestershire.

The team met the Newson family following a tweet requesting them to salute him.

The Red Arrows team are currently on a coast-to-coast tour of North America.

RAF Scampton has housed the Red Arrows since 2000, but the Ministry of Defence announced last year the base would close by 2022.